Construction employment increased in 192 out of 360 metropolitan areas between April 2025 and April 2026, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data released on June 3. Association officials said that growing resistance to the construction of data centers and uncertainty about congressional passage of a new highway and transit bill could threaten continued job growth in the sector.
“While it is encouraging to see a majority of metros adding construction jobs, the growth is uneven and fragile,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Given how much construction today is being driven by new data centers and infrastructure, the growing backlash to data center construction has the potential to disrupt the industry’s fragile job growth.”
Between April 2025 and April 2026, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, Texas added the most construction jobs (8,900 jobs or four percent), followed by St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois (7,300 jobs or nine percent), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (6,500 jobs or thirteen percent), Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina (5,900 jobs or seven percent), and Columbus, Ohio (5,700 jobs or ten percent). Davenport-Moline-Rock Island in Iowa-Illinois recorded a seventeen percent gain with an increase of 1,700 positions. Other notable increases included Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Kankakee, Illinois; Bloomington, Indiana; and Weirton-Steubenville in West Virginia-Ohio.
Conversely, construction employment declined in 117 metro areas over this period while remaining flat in another 51. The largest losses were seen in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale (-5,000 jobs or -3 percent), Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom (-4,700 jobs or -6 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (-4,500 jobs or -4 percent), Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro (-4,100 jobs or -5 percent), and Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine (-3,500 jobs or -3 percent). Lawton in Oklahoma experienced the steepest percentage loss at twenty-six percent.
Association officials highlighted increasing local opposition to data center projects as a risk for one of few sectors still driving industry expansion. They noted that resources have been developed to explain economic benefits associated with these facilities. Additionally, they called on Congress to pass a new highway and transit bill by September 30 so essential infrastructure work can continue uninterrupted.
“Politics is driving the fate of vital technology and transportation infrastructure projects,” said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the association’s chief executive officer.
The Nevada Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America represents general contractors as well as specialty contractors within Nevada’s construction sector through advocacy efforts at both civic affairs events and state legislative sessions under its charter, according to its official website.
